Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine won’t let a convoy of 280
trucks that Russia says are carrying humanitarian aid to cross
into its territory in its current form as it doesn’t adhere to
international rules and must be led by the Red Cross.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the trucks carrying
2,000 metric tons of donated food, medicine and drinking water
left Moscow for areas held by pro-Russian rebels in southeastern
Ukraine today. Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said
the convoy was carrying military gear in the guise of aid and
any assistance would only be let in after a Red Cross evaluation
that may take a week.

“Humanitarian cargo will arrive to Ukraine in compliance
with Ukrainian and international laws and according to Red Cross
practices,” Lysenko said in Kiev. The Red Cross will “evaluate
the needs of citizens in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine
during the week. The humanitarian mission will be undertaken
after this evaluation.”

The humanitarian push comes as Ukrainian forces tighten a
noose around rebel strongholds in the eastern cities of Donetsk
and Luhansk, where thousands of people are reported to be
without water, power and medical aid. Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko rejected a call for a cease-fire by militants two
days ago and told them to abandon their effort to wrest eastern
Ukrainian regions from Kiev’s control and join Russia in a
rebellion that has killed more than 1,200 people.

Ukraine and its allies in the U.S. and European Union have
warned Russia not to use a humanitarian mission as a guise for
military intervention in Ukraine. The Red Cross said no one had
informed it about the trucks and no aid can be delivered until
hostilities end.

“Nobody contacted us,” Alla Khabarova, the head of the
Red Cross in Ukraine, said by phone today. “They should have
done it via the Russian Red Cross and via us and provide a list
of what aid is provided and who is accompanying it. All military
action, all shooting, has to be ended.”